Riviera Beach woman accused of aggravated child abuse

May 27, 2014|By Henry Fitzgerald, Sun Sentinel

The teenager showed up at the Riviera Beach Police Department on May 6 with bruises all over his body.

What he told police resulted in an arrest for Cassandra Denise Edmonds, whom he said beats him with a hockey stick. He said that he was afraid to go back into her care, according to a Riviera Beach police arrest report.

Police Monday arrested Edmonds, 36, on two counts of aggravated child abuse, according to the report.

The teen and his younger brother told police that Edmonds also hits them with a "rat-tail comb," a belt, extension cords and "anything else she can get her hands on."

The officer wrote in the report that a rat-tail comb has a pointed handle that "could cause a puncture if ample pressure is applied."

The teen also got nervous during his interview because he was afraid Edmonds would be able to see the interview and that he didn't want to say more because he was afraid, according to the report.

When contacted by police, Edmonds said the teen "is a runaway and a troubled teenager and that she does discipline him," according to the report.

Officers then contacted the Department of Children & Families, who started an investigation and removed the two boys from Edmond's care.

An examination revealed that one of the boys had healing scars on the top of his head, cuts on his hip, and a puncture wound to his palm. He told investigators that his injuries were from a hockey stick and the comb.

The other boy also had lacerations and what appeared to be fingernail marks on his back, ear and body. There were also marks on his mid-back that investigators think came from "forceful strikes," according to the report.